Huntsville gazette., 1887-12-10

| DuolucSS VI tue country, anu 100 extensive u
commingling OF their money. thus fostering an
| unnatural reliance in private business upon
/ public funds If this scheme should be adopted
II should only be done as temporary expe-
| Cuent TO meet an urgent necessity. Legislative
ana executive effort should generally be In the
| opposite direction, and should have tendency
| 10 olvoree, as much and as fast as
| partment from private enterprise. OF course it
is not expected that unnecessary and extrava-
CANT appropriations will be made for the pur-
| pose OF avoiding the accumulation of an excess
! of revenue. Such expenditure, besides the de-
| moralization OF all just conceptions of public
duty which it entails, stimulates habit of
| reckless lmprovidence not in the least consist
Mt with the mission of our people or the high
| and beneficent purpose of our Government.
| l have deenedit my duty to thus bring to the
| knowledge OF my countrymen as well as TO the
| attention q their representatives charged
with tho spy1sibiiity of legislative re-
| hef, the gravity OF our financial situation.
\ The failure of Congress heretofore to provide
| against the dangers which 1t was quite evident
| the very nature OF the difficulty must neces-
| sarily produce, caused a condition of financial
| distress and apprehension since your last ad-
| 1ourment, which taxed to the utmost all the
! authority and expedients within executive con-
| troll; and these appear now to be exhausted.
| II disaster results from the continued inaction
| OF Congress, the responsibility must rest
| where 1T belongs. Though the situation thus
| far considered is fraught with danner which
| should be fully realized and though it presents
features OF wrong to the people as well as peril
to the country. 1t is but result growing out of
| perfectly palpable and apparent cause, con-
| stantly reproducing the same alarming circum-
stances--a congested National Treasury and
| depicted monetary condition in the business of
| the country 1t need hardly be stated that
| while the present situation demands remedy,
| we can only be saved from like predicament
! in the future by the removal of its cause.
Our scheme Of taxation, by means of which
this needless surplus is taken from the people
| and put into the public treasury, consists
| OF tariff or duty levied upon importa-
| tions from abroad, and internal revenue taxes
| LEVIED upon the consumption of tobacco and
Splr1tuous and malt liquors. It must be conced-
| ed that none of the things subjected to internal
revenue taxation are, strictly speaking, Aces
| sarles; there appears to be no just complaint
| OF this taxation by the consumers of these ar
tlcles, and there seems to be nothing so well
| able to bear the burden without hardship to
| any portion of the people. But our present
tariff laws, the vicious inequitable and illogical
| once revised and amended. These laws, as their
primary and plain effect, raise the price to con-
| sumers OF all articles imported and subject to
duty, by precisely the sum paid for
| such duties. Thus the amounts of the
| duty measures the tax paid by those who
| purchase for use these imported articles
| Many of these things, however, are raised or
/ manufactured in our own country, and the
| duties now levied upon foreign goods and pro-
| ducts are called protection to these home
| manufactures, because they render it possible
| for. those of our people who are manufacturers
| to make these taxed articles and sell them for
| price equal to that demanded for the i'm
| pOEbCQ SOOuS llldG nave pdlu CuSJOluS Quly. %
| it happens that, while comparatively a few use
| the imported articles, millions of our people,
| who never use and never saw any OF
| the foreign products, purchase and use
| things of the same kind made in
| this country and pay therefor nearly or
| quite the same enhanced price which the duty
| adds to the imported articles Those who buy
| imports pay the duty charged thereon into the
public treasury, but the great majority of our
citizens VIZ buy domestic articles of the same
| class pay sum at least approximately equal
| To this QntV to the home manufacturer, TllS
| reference to the operation of our tariff laws is
| not made by way of instruction, but in order
| that we may be constantly reminded Of the
| manner in which they impose burden upon
| those who consume domestic products as well
| as those who consume imported articles, and
| thus create a tax upon all our people.
1t is not proposed to entirely relieve the coun-
| try of this taxation. 1t must be extensively
| continued as the source of the Governments in
| come; and in readjustment OF our tariff the
\ interests OF American labor engaged IN manu- :.
! facture should be carefully considered, as well
| as the preservation of our manufacturers. 1t
may be called protection, or by any other name,
| but relief from the hardships and dangers of
! our present tariff laws should be devised with
| especial precaution against imperillng the ex-
4 istence OF our manufacturing interests. But
| this existence should not mean condltlon
4 which, without regard to the public welfare
| or a National exigency, must al
/ ways insure the realization of immense
| profits instead of moderately profitable re-
| turns As the volume and diversity of our Ma
( tional activities increase, new recruits are
! added to those who desire continuation OF the
| advantages which they conceive the present
| system OF tariff taxation directly affords them.
| So stubbornly have all efforts to reform the
present condition been resisted by those of our
| fellowcitiZens thus engaged, that they can
| hardly complain OF the suspicion, entertained to
| a certain extent, that there existed an organ
| lied combination all along the line to maintain
1 their advantage.
| We are in the midst Of centennial celebra-
tions, and with becoming pride were rejoice in
American skill and ingenuity, American energy
| and enterprise, and in the wonderful natural
| advantages and resources developed by
| q century's National growth. Yet when an at
| tempt is made to justify scheme which per-
mits o tax to be laid upon every consumer in
| the land for the benefit of our manufactures
| quite beyond a reasonable demand for Govern
mental regard, it suits the purposes of advocacy
to call our manufactures infant industries, still
needing the highest and greatest degree of
| favor and fostering care that can be Wrung from
| Federal legislation.
| It is also said that the increase in the
| price of domestic manufactures resulting
| from the present tariff is necessary in order
| that higher wages may be paid to our
| workingmen employed in manufactures, than
| are paid for what is called the pauper labor of
| Europe. All will acknowledge the force of the
| argument that government which involves
| the welfare and liberal compensation of our
| labor is honorable in the eyes of every Ameri-
can citizen; and as it lies at the foundation of
| our development and progress, it is entitled,
without affectation or hypocrisy, to the ut
most regard. The standard of our laborers'
| life should not be measured by that of any
| other country less favored, and they are en-
| titled to their full share of all our advantage.
BY the last census it is made to appear that
| of the 17,592,Q99 of our population engaged in
all kinds OF industries 7,670 495 are employed in
agriculture, 4,074.238 in professional and per-
sonal service, (2,934.876 OF whom are domestic
servants and laborers) while 1916, ,256 are en-
ployed in trade and transportation, and ,837 l12
are classed as employed in manufacturing and
mining.
For presect purposes, however, the last num-
Der given should be considerably reduced
Without attempting to enumerate all, it will be
conceded that there should be deducted from
those which it includes 375, ,143 carpenters and
joiners; 285, ,401 milhners, dressmakers and seam
stresses, IT, 726 blacksmiths, 133 756 tailors and
tailoresses, 103, 473 masons 1924 butchers, Al,
800 bakers, p 0S3 plasterers and 1881 engaged
in manufacturing agricultural implements,
amounting in the aggregate to 1,214,G23, leav-
ing !, ,623, OS9 persons employed in such manu-
featuring industries as claimed to be Dene
fitted by high tariff To these the appeal is
made to save their employment and maintain
their wages by resisting change. There
should be no disposition to answer such sugges-
tions by the allegation that they are in a mi
nority among those who labor, and therefore
should forego an advantage in the interest Of
low prices for the majority; their
compensation, as it may be af-
fected by the operation of tariff
laws, should at all times be scrupulously kept
in view; and yet with slight infection they will
not overlook the fact that they are consumers